This was our second Hawaii trip on the Ruby (Nov 2015). I am only giving a quick overview, I posted on the APP chat a few times and uploaded some pictures during the trip.
24 March 2019 we arrived at the terminal about 11:15, walked passed the line of people waiting to be told where to go, walked up to the counter (we are elite), checked in, got a boarding number, slowly walked through security (too many idiots trying to carry on all their bags and needing help and/or not being prepared for the security rules), walked by the boarding area and it was now open. Got to the Main Dining Room (MDR) at 11:45 and waited until 12:00 opening time. Ship made several announcements that staterooms would be available at 2 PM and they would announce when (actual was 1:30), and still people tried to go into their rooms and complained that they were not allowed to do so. Folks, we boarded early, quit the complaining!
Weather was iffy for the first three days and then we had nice pool weather for most of the trip. Dinner in the Michelangelo was good, another new menu that was served for the first time, a mix of good and bad. We had two areas that had fair waiters, but we found some excellent waiters, Neil and Stefani at table 224, that worked very hard to get us good dinners or to correct what we did not like in the way of entrees. Neil was very outgoing and made dinners fun (plus we talked with him at several other locations during the day). Breakfast was mostly in the Da Vinci and waiters ran from excellent to poor and about half way through the trip we started asking for table 424 because Norlan was the only waiter that was fun, would try to get special requests (and usually could, unlike the others), and got orders right the first time. We did eat breakfast twice in the Lido Buffet, Ho-Hum. Not bad, but not great either. Now lunch, Buffet had a good lunch, I ate there most of the time and was very satisfied (they have a “taco” bar that is really tostadas), and the old Trident Grill is now a Salty Dog and has (to me) a better menu, including real street tacos (chicken or sweet potato) that you can ask to be modified.
Room, standard balcony with the shorter table, our steward Marlon was averagely good, what we expect from Princess.
Entertainment was a bit better during the daytime, not great, but they did have some earlier entertainment in the piazza a few days. Richard Sulek, Poland, Piano, great listening music. Souvenir Duo, two Hungarians, piano and guitar/mouth piano, great listening music with some dancing. And of course Tiki Dave and occasionally wife Leialhoa, mix of music (guitar and steel guitar) and a lot of dancing. Mark, naturalist, had some good talks on a variety of subjects.
Shows were a mix of good and bad and depended on your tastes. But we overall were happy with most of the shows.
Disembarkation was not too bad, did customs before getting bags which was nice. Overall a nice trip, would do it again.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Into the terminal about 11:15, on the ship by 11:45
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
Hard to rate since it was both excellent and average overall. Have to give kudos to the table assigners, once they discovered I was asking for tables 224 and 424, they would see us and send us to those tables. Dinner in the Michelangelo was good, another new menu that was served for the first time, a mix of good and bad. We had two areas that had fair waiters, but we found some excellent waiters, Neil and Stefani at table 224, that worked very hard to get us good dinners or to correct what we did not like in the way of entrees. Neil was very outgoing and made dinners fun (plus we talked with him at several other locations during the day). Breakfast was mostly in the Da Vinci and waiters ran from excellent to poor and about half way through the trip we started asking for table 424 because Norlan was the only waiter that was fun, would try to get special requests (and usually could, unlike the others), and got orders right the first time. We did eat breakfast twice in the Lido Buffet, Ho-Hum. Not bad, but not great either. Now lunch, Buffet has a good lunch now, I ate there most of the time and was very satisfied (they have a “taco” bar that is really tostadas), only issue is that it is still the closed loop and hard to navigate when full. The old Trident Grill is now a Salty Dog and has (to me) a better menu, including real street tacos (chicken or sweet potato) that you can ask to be modified.
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
For what I did anyway. Once the weather turned nice, did the front pool first thing in the morning for laps, was nice. Back pool was just too crowded, no seating except on the hot wood. Still had just enough sun to get tan, but not burn. Most of the time I read, worked on my laptop, and people watched.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
Entertainment was a bit better during the daytime, not great, but they did have some earlier entertainment in the piazza a few days. Richard Sulek, Poland, Piano, great listening music. Souvenir Duo, two Hungarians, piano and guitar/mouth piano, great listening music with some dancing. And of course Tiki Dave and occasionally wife Leialhoa, mix of music (guitar and steel guitar) and a lot of dancing. Mark, naturalist, had some good talks on a variety of subjects. Shows were a mix of good and bad and depended on your tastes. But we overall were happy with most of the shows.
Children's Programs
No kids with us.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Overall excellent, especially as noted in dining. Room steward was as expected for Princess, very good, but not one of our best. Coffee/ice cream bar was a mix, the coffee side would not help the ice cream side when there was a 20 person line and all she did was shine the same things over and over.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Yes, there was trash around from people being too lazy to find an appropriate drop spot, but the staff did keep things picked up when they came upon it. Saw maintenance going on so they are fixing things. Layout, easy to get around, but we have been on the Ruby a few times and we can read the map.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
We have had better rooms, but this was good. Door was very nice and easy to open and close, we could leave it open at times (wish there was a way to shut off the AC). Only bad thing was the sink stopper kept falling off the lifter, I finally gave up and fixed it myself since the ships folks could not do it right.
Ship tip
if you are playing cards or games, go to the Michalangelo, not the Skywalker, leave the Skywalker for those trying to be quite
Liked, but unfortunately our scheduled tour guide passed on just before our trip and they closed the company for mourning, Ken Smet will be missed. We took the Keikana Tours/Hoppa on Hoppa off bus for $41.80 for two, a nice lazy way to see the local area.
Jaded area, too many tourists that are ripe for picking. Wish the Jones Act was repealed do cruise ships did not have to stop here anymore. Would rate as a two, but that drops the ship overall points for something mandated by the US Gov.
KruisingK8ty, I have never seen one. Use the map and poke your nose into odd corners. Some places are hard to find, like on top of the bridge there is a nice spot to watch going in and out of ports
*Cruiseline.com is not a booking agent or travel agency,
and does not charge any service fees to users of our site. Our partners
(travel agencies and cruise lines) provide prices, which we list for our
users' convenience. Cruiseline.com does not guarantee any specific rates or
prices. While prices are updated daily, please check with the booking site
for the exact amount. Cruiseline.com is not responsible for content on
external web sites.
Contact us
Submitting...
Need help from a personal vacation planner?
Loading...
Find the perfect cruise with weekly tips and cruise deals for as little as $30/night!
Sign up for weekly cruise deals
Join other subscribers and get the best
cruise deals of the week in your inbox every Thursday.
